Entrance
by Shizuku Tsukishima749
Summary: -Post-Movie.- When she realizes how close she came to losing him, well...perhaps this is one time when she will let down her guard. And maybe, just maybe, she'll allow him entrance into her heart. Justin/Alex Sibling Oneshot.


_A/N: _This is the very first WoWP fic I've _ever written_, and because this focuses on _my _interpretation of the Justin and Alex sibling bond after the movie, I think the characters will seem OOC. For that (if they do), I apologize. I have a very..._specific _picture of how close brothers and sisters act, and I _know _Justin and Alex aren't that close, but...as I said, this is _my _interpretation. lol.

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney and anyone else affiliated does.

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**Entrance**

He found her on the balcony that morning, the morning after everything.

Sitting alone on one of the white-cushioned chairs on the balcony, she didn't seem to notice as the wind whipped through her hair and colored her already-rosy cheeks a light pink.

Suddenly mesmerized, he stood in the glass-paned doorway and watched her for a moment. In a strange way, it became abruptly clear to him why an increasing number of boys at school were so enamored with her. She really was beautiful…

Shaking his head to clear it, he crept forward slowly, quietly, closing the sliding-glass doors behind him to give them some privacy. Settling into the chair to her left, he was silent as he observed her.

Was she even aware of his presence? After all, apart from the compulsory act of blinking, he hadn't seen her so much as bat an eyelash upon his arrival. Then again, it was customary—according to the complex dynamics of their relationship, anyway—for her to ignore him, but since the escapade surrounding the Stone of Dreams, things had been different between them.

A flicker of eye movement, and he stared as her lips parted very gradually, chest expanding with an even, slow breath. Was this her way of telling him to leave? Or was she saying something else, something far more important? Trusting his brotherly instincts, he chose the latter.

"You okay, Alex?" he asked softly, lightly; if this were some private, personal thing she didn't want to share, he didn't want to pressure her. Over the past few days, he had learned some things about his sister he'd never imagined he would, and one of those was that, when it came to her family, she could be very hard one moment and frighteningly vulnerable the next.

She didn't seem to hear him. As before, her eyes were bright, but no flash of direction came this time. Leaning forward to lay a gentle, concerned hand on her back, his eyes narrowed worriedly as his chest began to pound.

What if the Stone of Dreams had done something to her mind? What if giving up her Full-Wizard powers had had some kind of adverse effect on her?

Pushing these panic-driven thoughts aside, he tried one more time—if this didn't work, he was waking up Mom and Dad. "_Alex_."

Startled, she snapped to face him with wide eyes, and he was both relieved and surprised to see that she had simply been very deeply lost in thought. Such was a state of mind in which he rarely found his sister—

"It was you, you know," she blurted out unexpectedly; her voice was a touch louder than he had expected, and he jumped.

"Huh?" he asked dumbly, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. _What _was him?

"I was thinking of you, Justin."

He was shocked. Did he hear her right? She was thinking about _him_…voluntarily? He knew that their bond had strengthened lately, that their relationship had been a million times better than he could have ever fathomed, but this…this was just _bizarre_.

She laughed. Her brother's reactions were always fun, especially when it was in response to one of her pranks or taunts, but this was particularly amusing. Head drooping, mouth hanging open slightly, one eyebrow quirked… Oh, yeah, this was a keeper for the grandkids.

"M—me? But I—what—don't—Alex?" he sputtered, wanting to get to the bottom of this so he could wrap his mind around whatever she was saying.

But when he blinked and saw how pinched her face suddenly was, how glaringly bright her eyes had become in that split second, he stopped and simply gazed at her. After a minute, he gulped almost imperceptibly. Things were about to get messy, he could feel it.

"Yes, you, silly," she retorted half-heartedly, her voice cracking in a very non-Alex manner as she threw a smile his way.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he tried again, his breath short. She was scaring him—oh, gosh, she was.

"I'm fine, Justin," she assured, but the tears he saw steadily gathering in her eyes despite her attempts to hide them let him see otherwise.

"Alex," his brows furrowed and voice went low with stern, concerned tenderness; he didn't know if he could take much more of this, "Alex, _please_."

Squeezing her eyes shut at his desperate tone—disgusted with herself because _she _had caused it—she kept her eyes from his. She couldn't look at him because, if she did, it would mean— Hearing him shift beside her, it was purely a reflex when she turned to see him standing, a determined, protective expression on his face.

"I'm getting Mom and Dad." Her eyes widening, she reached out for him haphazardly, practically flailing to keep her with him. Gazing down at her, small hands encasing his wrist in a death grip, he saw in her eyes a vulnerability that took his breath away. He gulped. Ay Dios Mio…what had happened to her?

Sitting down again, he faced her and gently pried her hands from his arm—which slowly began turning pink again with replenished blood—and held them tightly, calmingly rubbing circles on their backs with his thumbs.

Staring into his eyes, she was much calmer than before, shoulders slumped and face…it was unreadable, come to think of it, and that _scared _him. Whenever his sister's face lacked any identifiable feeling, well…the next moments would dictate their futures, Justin was sure of that.

And then came the hug. It was fast and strong—he hadn't even seen it coming and could now hardly breathe in its encompassing strength—and somehow, his oxygen-deprived brain found the sense to hug her back.

Enjoying the strangely comfortable silence between them, he took note of the stray tendrils of her hair hitting him and the way she clutched the material of his shirt into small balls in her fists. Something had truly made Alex…less herself, and though a part of him thrilled at seeing this sentimental, loving side to his sister, he wanted answers.

"You didn't remember me, and I—" she shivered in his arms, and he held her tighter, "—Oh, Justin…please, please don't _ever _leave me like that again."

Her brother was shell-shocked, and he showed it by his frozen state. She was upset over…over him? Was he dreaming all of this? Had he finally gone crazy and been admitted to an asylum, where they had drugged him into this hallucination?

No, he realized, no, he couldn't be. If either of those possibilities were true, why, he wouldn't be feeling his sister's warm heat in his arms, wouldn't smell the ocean in her hair, or feel the…_tears _running down her cheek.

He, too, recalled what she was speaking of now.

Oh, how horrible it had been, his conscious mind locked away and a black void taking its place. He had been a blank slate, one he had tried desperately to fill, but nothing had worked.

And so…

He'd had to watch as the darkness first introduced itself and horrid realization struck his sister.

He'd had to watch her cry for him, beg him not to leave her in the most hopeless, childlike voice he'd heard from her since she was eight.

He'd had to watch her admit things she wouldn't have in a million years if given a choice.

He'd watched her break, be reborn, and shatter; be brought up only to be let down again.

He'd watched her _die _without him…

Clutching her to him now, he leaned toward her ear and whispered, "I would _never _leave you."

Pulling back with wide eyes and a tear-stained face, she gazed at him for a long moment. He _remembered_! Then—

"Justin…I was so afraid," she admitted, for once not lowering her head at such a sure show of weakness. "I thought I'd never see you or Max again. The whirlwind came and—" she choked on the lump in her throat, and Justin squeezed her hands encouragingly, eyes never leaving hers, "—and you were gone." She shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake the very memory from invading her thoughts ever again.

Placing his free hand on the pair of theirs that was already linked, he waited for her to lay her now-free hand on top of the threesome before he kissed it.

"It's okay, Alex. It's all right, I promise. I mean it: I wouldn't leave you if my life depended on it." His eyes were honest and true; her eyes were wide and shining. Truly, this was the height, the glory, of their relationship.

Leaning in, she hugged him one more time, the action gentler and less needy now, but it only put that much more reinforcement into his half of the embrace. "I love you, Justin," she whispered.

Holding her tighter, he smiled and curled his face into her shoulder, relaying softly, "I love you, too, Alex."

Releasing herself from his grip, she grinned at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek for good measure.

Justin turned down her offer of accompanying her to the pool. Instead, he said he'd catch up with her in a bit, but he wanted to do a little people-watching first, one of his favorite hobbies when in an unfamiliar place. Rolling her eyes playfully, she winked and smiled warmly before leaving him to his thoughts.

Breathing deeply, he looked out upon the ocean for a while, observing the way the waves broke on the rocks and sent droplets of salty sea spray raining everywhere. He'd always loved the sea, especially--secretly--because it reminded him of his sister.

One moment, it was calm; the next, it was raging. One moment, it was slow and enchanting; the next, it was enticing and dangerous. One moment, it was beautiful; the next, it was an even more beautiful—though admittedly more terrifying—mess.

Like the sea, he mused, entrance into the heart must be granted. And like the sea, he would be the one to tame the waves.

He would brave the storm for her, fight for her, come back for her; no matter what, he swore he would.

Because he was her big brother, and she was his little sister.

Because he loved her that much.

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_A/N: _The 'kissing hands' thing between brother and sister: don't worry about it. This is purely a family fic (unless there are those who wish to see it as otherwise, to whom I'll say, 'be my guest')_;_ besides, my Dad and I kiss each other's hands all the time, and though I admit my family is much more demonstrative than most, I would imagine this simple show of affection wouldn't be too big a cause for alarm.

The "sea" parts of the 'like the sea' line: the heart of the sea can be a dangerous place, but once you get there, you know it's worth it; and 'taming the waves' refers to Justin's skill of wind-surfing. Thought that might be confusing; for a while, it even confused _me_... Then again, it _is _a little past 3 A.M., and I've been exhausted since this afternoon, so... lol.

(Also, when I'm really tired (like now), I have the slight tendency to switch from third to first person and vice versa or go from past tense to present, so please bear with and tell me if you see anything of those sorts. Or, really, if you see anything that's out of place. I'm sure I missed something, trust me. lol.)

Thanks for reading! Sorry if this wasn't very good!


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